After Effects, Potions and History
by French-Lo
Summary: He was suddenly startled by a voice. A voice which he had not expected to hear within these walls. A voice which he only rarely heard.
1. Chapter One

**A/N Hello, here is my new story. Forget everything about the end of DH (such as the death of SS, the marriage of HG and RW, etc...) and you will arrive at the beginning of my story which starts roughly five years after the war.**

**For those of you who are reading my other WIP****s, I am afraid that they will be in progress for a long time as I've totally lost the inspiration for them. **

**Disclaimers: nothing to me, everything to JKR**

**Edit 9.11.2010: The story is beta read from now on. And for that I send a HUGE thanks to permanentwhiplash!**

**Bonne lecture!**

**Chapter One**

Today had been a very busy day. Indeed with the end of the year drawing near, the already annoying dunderheads became more annoying than before. And why was that, you might ask? It could only be because it was that terrible one week period called exam week. And during this stressful period it was not rare to find a couple of girls bursting into tears at the end of a class or boys getting more nervous than before – probably because they just realized that they had not been studying enough during the year.

If it was a very tiring period for the students, it was certainly not a joyful one for the staff as well. Especially regarding a particular Potions Master.

Severus Snape despised this accursed period of the year. He did not like seeing all these dunderheads going crazy over exams that were not that difficult if you had taken the time to do your homework properly. In addition, it was even more annoying for him because as Head of the Slytherin House and Deputy Headmaster, he was forced to welcome any distressed students in his office to listen to their worries.

Therefore, that is with great pleasure that Severus Snape always welcomed the evenings. And tonight even more as he was in charge of the patrols in the castle – an occasion to withdraw points from every houses (including his own) because of undisciplined students.

Therefore patrolling in the middle of the night during this period was not unusual for the Potions Master of Hogwarts. No, what was more unusual was what he heard this night in particular.

As he was patrolling near the hospital wing in the search of lovers hiding in some random dark corners snogging, he was suddenly startled by a voice. A voice which he had not expected to hear within these walls. A voice which he only rarely heard, and to be quite honest, rarely wanted to hear. As he came closer to the infirmary, the voice became clearer and clearer until the point where there was no doubt about the owner of the voice.

It was a voice which he usually tried to avoid. Why would he avoid such a voice, you might wonder…Because it was usually one accompanied with trouble, or more precisely two pains in the arse – one green-eyed, the other red-headed.

Indeed, from what he was hearing it seemed that Hermione Granger – the brightest witch of her age, as some would call her, and Severus Snape was not one of these – was at this instant in the infirmary.

As he approached the doors of the infirmary even closer, the voice –or rather voices, as Granger was not talking to herself- became more distinct and the little doubt he had that maybe he was mistaken or was hallucinating disappeared completely. Even more when he heard her laughing. That particular sound that he was forced to endure during each gathering the Order organised to celebrate their victory over the Dark Lord. A sound that he despised above all things as it was the perfect proof of her ignorance of the world and its reality.

Then he started to wonder why she was here. Was she now a part of the teaching staff and he did not know about it? No. As Deputy Headmaster, he would have known of such an addition to the Hogwarts staff. Moreover, there was no vacancy at the moment, though Professor Binns was giving more signs than ever of becoming aware of his condition.

So why was she here? A courtesy visit to Poppy or Minerva? At nearly two in the morning? No, that seemed quite impossible, even for Hermione Granger.

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps heading to the doors. Not inclined to being discovered while eavesdropping on someone he had no appreciation for, he moved quickly and silently to the next corridor, feeling oddly like a student avoiding a patrolling teacher.

Here, hiding in the shadows, he tried for a moment to figure out what exactly was the reason of her presence in the castle. But after a couple of minutes he remembered his duties and resumed his patrols. Granger was not worth occupying his thoughts tonight. He would ask Minerva tomorrow; there was no need to waste a nice night dwelling on unpleasant thoughts.

On his way back to his dungeon rooms, he had the privilege-Minerva would disagree most vehemently on this-of catching not one, but two Gryffindor-Ravenclaw couples and deducting fourty points from each house. Feeling considerably more cheerful and proud of himself, he went to bed with thoughts of Granger completely cleared from his mind.

But it would not be for long.

The next morning he went to the Great Hall to take his breakfast as usual. Because it was still rather early, he did not expect to see anyone yet except for a couple of students and professors.

So he settled at his usual place around the Head table and started to put some bacon and eggs in his plate. It was only as he was swallowing his first gulp of coffee that he noticed something different about the Great Hall.

After all his years as a spy it did not take him long to discover the origin of this difference. There were more seats at the Head Table. Curious.

He tried to remember if Minerva had told him about some people coming to visit Hogwarts but could not remember anything. Maybe he should listen more carefully when speaking to the Headmistress. As a former spy you would have expected that he did not forget any single word of a conversation – especially if it dealt with important pieces of information – but now that the war was over, Severus Snape found it very easy to sometimes not listen when he did not actually care.

And this is during these moments such as this morning that he blamed himself of becoming that reckless and that lazy.

He was interrupted in his thoughts by the opening of the side door reserved to the professors. He groaned in his coffee at the sound that meant that he would not have a calm breakfast. He hoped it was not Trelawney. This insecthad recently decided to court him – once again. And he had no desire to deal with her this morning. So he focused hard on the content of his plate, thus avoiding the person entering the Great Hall.

Well, wait a minute. The person? By the footsteps he was hearing, there were more than one person. They were two to be precise. And that meant even more disturbance for his breakfast. Especially now that the footsteps were heading in his direction.

Focusing harder on his plate, he tried not to react when he heard and felt the two individuals sitting not far from him. He really thought he had succeeded in not attracting attention and was happy to spend the rest of his breakfast in the calm. But it was before he heard his name.

'Severus...Severus!'

He slowly raised his head and tried well to conceal his anger of such a disruption to the eyes of the Headmistress.

'Good morning, Minerva!' he said in a fakely cheery tone. "I didn't have the dubious pleasure of hearing you enter the room."

'Of course you didn't,' she answered, knowing full well that her colleague had done everything to avoid conversation this early in the morning.

'Look who's with me!" Minerva added with a bright smile, gesturing to her companion as she leaned over to study the fare laid out on the table.

And slowly Severus turned his head in the direction of the person who had been gestured to. Hermione Granger. At this sight, Severus wondered if he would not have preferred a tête-à-tête with Trelawney rather than see this girl for his breakfast.

'Miss Granger.'

'Professor Snape,' Hermione acknowledged him with a slight nod and a smile.

'Oh, do call him Severus my dear. We are not your professors anymore,' Minerva intervened very quickly.

'I would not dare to do so. With all the respect I have for you both, it seems out of place to call you by your first names'

Severus was surprised by her reaction and –unsurprisingly-agreed with her. Only a few people were on a first-name basis with him and he would not let the know-it-all be one of them. But before he had time to reply, Minerva did.

'But we don't mind. Don't worry my dear. After all, we spent quite a long time altogether not so long ago during the war. You should be comfortable calling us by our names by now.'

Hermione smiled.

Expecting some reactions from her colleague, Minerva turned her head towards Severus. Not wanting to dwell on the subject, Severus Snape asked then the first question that came to his mind and which the answer would hopefully satisfy his curiosity.

'And may I ask why you are here, Miss Granger?'

'Call her Hermione, Severus!' his colleague exclaimed, her hands on her hips.

You would have expected one to correct himself and asked the question again with the proper address. But Severus Snape did not and a tense atmosphere started to settle.

Hermione, who did not want to make anyone uncomfortable, replied nonetheless. 'For the conference sir.'

'The conference? Which conference?' he asked as he turned his head sharply in Minerva's direction.

'Severus!" the older witch said sharply, looking scandalized. Don't tell me you forgot about the conference. You should listen more carefully when people are talking to you or one day something nasty will happen to you. This week a conference about Wizarding history is to be held in the castle and we are welcoming several guests- as I already told you-Hermione here, as part of her studies, decided to attend. She will be here for the remaining of the week. Isn't it wonderful?' Minerva asked with a bright smile.

Severus could not believe what he heard. He would have to eat every meal of the week with strangers from all around the world, Granger included. His day could not have begun more terribly. He rolled his eyes and decided to not lift his gaze from his plate for the rest of his breakfast.

He hoped that this week would go quickly and decided that he would try to avoid human contact as much as possible until the conference was over.

**A/N So what do you think? Should I keep writing? Let me know in a review...**


	2. Chapter Two

**A/N Here is the new chapter**

**One point before you start reading, to write this story I need motivation, and I can only have it through reviews. Because without them I don't know what I have to change and what I should keep. ****So please review!**

**Chapter Two**

It had been two days since the conference had started in Hogwarts, and Severus Snape had barely been out of his quarters except for his classes and some meals. He had not even been patrolling – a thing that every couple of Hogwarts had taken advantage of.

But this morning in particular Snape had had enough of that. He wanted to get some fresh air, preferably far away from the castle. After a small internal debate, he decided to go to Hogsmeade. It wasn't quite as far away as he should have liked, but it would do. And he could get those ingredients he needed for his Potions supply. Therefore, it was the perfect plan.

So it was and at fifteen minutes to nine, one Potions master was seen leaving his quarters in a black winter coat, and most likely, his wand up his sleeve.

* * *

Hermione had been at Hogwarts for a little more than two days. Though the conference was rather interesting, she decided to occupy her free morning with something with no connection whatsoever to History: a little excursion in Hogsmeade.

It had been a long time since she last came here. And she missed this little town, a home to many of her finest-and worst-memories from her time at Hogwarts. Now that she lived in London, she rarely went to Scotland. She had Diagon Alley not far from her flat and everything she could possibly need could be found there. Nevertheless, it had not the same familiar and comfortable feeling that she felt every time she came to Hogsmeade.

Her first stop was the Honeydukes sweetshop. To come here was a real pleasure. It made her think about all these times when Harry and Ron had forced her to enter the shop and promised her to buy just a couple of sweets only to exit the shop later their arms and pockets full of them.

Scrivenshaft's was the choice of a moment; she had no intention to buy anything, having quite enough, thank you very much. But oh! As soon as she entered the little shop she spotted a marvellous eagle quill with strand of silver on it. It did not take her long to decide to buy it.

After, she went to the new bookshop that had just been opened for a few weeks. As soon as she set a foot into the shop, she was in her element. It was not a big shop, no, quite the opposite, in fact, but it was so comfortable and homey. There were shelves everywhere. Moreover, these shelves went from the ground to the ceiling. They were all covered with books, the majority of them covered in leather, which suggested that if not rare they were at least very expensive. Nevertheless, their potential prices did not stop Hermione one bit. She would spend dozens of galleons in books without a single touch of remorse.

She spent almost two hours wandering between the books, reading their summaries or opening them to read some interesting passages she had spotted in them. However, looking at her watch she decided it was time to head back to the castle as a new meeting would soon begin.

She headed to the counter, paid for the five books she had chosen and finally exited the book shop.

So deep in thought was Hermione that she did not notice the man passing by the door until she had opened it and hurried out. Unfortunately, the man was moving at a pace a touch too slow, thus resulting in Hermione colliding with him and toppling backwards onto her bottom.

* * *

Severus Snape had been satisfied with his morning. He had found exactly what he wanted for his potions lab and had even yielded to the temptation of buying this nice iron cauldron that had taunted him for several weeks now.

Passing by the bookshop, he was thinking about getting back as fast as possible to his potions lab before his new supplies got spoiled. However, he suddenly bumped into something and the little packet with his ingredients fell on the ground, tore opened by the violence of the shock and letting its contents be seen.

He turned his head to the reason of the accident and saw the one that he had been avoiding since the beginning of the week. 'Miss Granger!' he snapped. 'Couldn't you have been more careful? You just wasted some valuable ingredients which would have been useful for the training of those dunderheads I have to teach!" He groaned slightly to himself as he bent down, gathering up the ingredients in an effort to salvage them.

Hermione was still sitting on the ground and had not moved one bit since the shock. She looked terribly dishevelled, with her clothes all twisted around her and books arrayed about her person. 'I'm sorry,' she mumbled.

'Yes, you better be!' Snape admonished behind his curtain of dark hair as he continued his seemingly hopeless task.

'I didn't see you,' she said weakly.

'You should have!' he snapped as he rose to his full height. Turning his head to the girl, he saw her still on the ground grimacing. 'Oh come along! No need to be so disgusted. It's only frog hearts. You have seen much worse during your own years at Hogwarts,' he said rolling his eyes.

Nevertheless, as she was still not moving, in a moment of pure chivalry, he took her arm above her elbow and raised her on her feet from the ground. He took off his wand from his sleeve, waved it at the books, which gathered themselves into a pile, reduced in size, and moved quickly to Granger's pocket.

'This simple spell could have avoided you that situation. It's incredible that the one that everyone calls 'the brightest witch of her age' does not know it.' He made a few steps heading back to the castle, but stopped in his tracks when he realized that she had not even tried to reply. He turned back and only saw her wide eyes.'One would have thought that now that everyone is considering you as a grown up you would not be afraid of the nasty bat of the dungeons. But apparently it is not the case. Once a dunderhead, always a dunderhead.'

And before she could say anything, he had left, leaving her alone in the middle of the main street of Hogsmeade.

* * *

Later, during dinner in the Great Hall, as Severus Snape was trying to eat Minerva approached him to ask him a question.

'Severus, have you seen Miss Granger lately?' she asked in a concerned tone.

Severus sighed. Even when she was not there, she annoyed him greatly.

'Yes. I've seen her this morning in Hogsmeade,' he answered quickly turning back to his plate.

'And you haven't seen her since?'

'No,' he replied. 'But why do you want to know where she is. Leave her be, she is probably asleep; her head buried in _Hogwarts a History_ in some corner of the Library. I don't see why you would worry.'

'I worry because she never went to the conference this afternoon!' Minerva replied sounding angry and annoyed at the same time.

'And so what? She's an adult now Minerva, if she does not want to go then it's her problem,' he said with annoyance, resuming his meal. He had just finished his sentence when Poppy chose to enter the room and come to sit next to him.

'Poppy, have you seen Miss Granger?' Minerva asked to the nurse.

'Oh yes of course, I thought she had sent you a message,' Poppy replied with a slight smile.

'No she did not. She was supposed to come in my office an hour ago but never arrived.'

'Oh, she must have been too tired. But don't worry anymore, I took care of her. She's alright now.'

And on these words, Minerva nodded to the nurse somewhat reassured by what she had just told her and came back to her place at the Head table.

Severus Snape rolled his eyes. It was typically a woman thing to worry for nothing. Surely Granger had come directly to Poppy after their encounter in Hogsmeade for a nail she had surely broke in her fall on Main Street. Then she must have explained to Poppy what an arse he was, bursting into tears and crying herself to sleep in one of the infirmary bed. Thus missing her conference of the afternoon and her meeting with the Headmistress.

Surely, that was what must have happened. He would have thought that the war would have toughened the know-it-all in some aspects. But apparently it hadn't been the case.

He sighed and prayed again for the week to go rather quickly because at it has started it promises to be a week even worse than he had thought.

**A/N Your comments? Let me know in a review...**

**On another note, anyone going to the HP Premiere in London?**


	3. Chapter Three

**A/N Now that I'm back to reality after Thursday and the Premiere I can give you the new chapter. **

**Edit 2011.04.28: Chapter beta-read. A HUGE thanks to Doppelgranger!**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter three**

The day after her encounter with Severus Snape in Hogsmeade, Hermione left the infirmary and went to the Great Hall for her breakfast.

Taking the way to the Great Hall was always a trip down memory lane for Hermione. And she liked that. Walking in the familiar corridors made her see a multitude of ghosts from her school years with Harry and Ron. Here in this corner she could remember how one day Ron learned that he had just spent the whole night writing a three-foot parchment on the use of horned toads in potions when the assignment dealt with horned slugs. Or there, she remembered how Ginny and she had just burst into laughing at one of Harry's joke. She really loved that place.

She entered the Great Hall by the side door. But little did she know that Severus Snape had just been standing in front of it ready to exit with a cup full of coffee – his first coffee of the morning.

* * *

Severus Snape had been sitting on his own at the far end of the head table with his cup of coffee when Pomona Sprout and Septima Vector had decided to sit next to him and started chatting gibberish nonsense.

After a few minutes, Snape –obviously in a bad mood – had had enough. He had taken his cup to drink it in his quarters and gone to the door.

He was about to open it when someone on the other side opened it at the same time and too violently for his taste. This had for effects to make him spill his coffee all over his robes – not that it actually showed on his dark clothes – and earned a coming bruise on his forehead.

When he rose his head to see who had provoke that accident, little to say that he was not actually surprised to see the bane of his week – or rather existence- namely Hermione bloody Granger, standing right in front of him with an apologetic face. Who else could have been that careless? Who else could have managed to ruin an already ruined and rotten day?

Any other day, he would have snapped at her so harshly that she would have cried. But not today. He was not in the mood. In fact he was so angry that he did not even want to speak to her. Instead of that, he quickly vanished his cup and exited the room. As he did so he took extremely good care of bumping really hard into her.

Hermione was starting to be really angry towards this man. She had not even had the time to apologize! She knew it was her fault. But there was no need to be that violent.

Hermione shook her head and headed to her chair at the head table. As she sat her shoulder started throbbing with pain. He had bumped really hard into her. She sighed. She would have to go to the infirmary right after her breakfast.

* * *

One class, two explosions of cauldrons and an hour of brewing later found Severus heading to the infirmary with a box full of vials containing his last batch of Pepper-Up potion. Poppy had asked for it the day before and during this period of the year, he better not be late if he did not want to deal with an angry Poppy with her arms full of dunderheads that had exhausted themselves over revisions.

He opened the door of the infirmary and directed himself to Poppy's office. What was not his surprise when he arrived and saw that Poppy was busy chatting with the know-it-all. Would she be everywhere he decided to go? He should really return to his first resolution of the week: not leaving his quarters until the end of the conference.

Not wanting to speak either to Poppy or the bushy head, he quickly went to the cupboard where he knew the nurse kept her potions and started to fill it with the vials he had brought.

When Severus Snape entered the infirmary office as she was just finishing her pleasant conversation with Poppy, Hermione decided that maybe it was a good time to apologize for the little incident that morning.

'Sir...' she started.

But as soon as she opened her mouth to speak, he had already finished what he was doing and was closing the cupboard. She took a step towards him. But as she did so, he quickly passed by her and escaped the room.

Hermione could not believe it. What an arrogant and infuriating man he was! She just could not help and gaped at the door.

Poppy came next to her from behind and put a hand on her shoulder.

'Leave it Hermione,' she said gently. 'There are some days when you better not go messing with him. Today is not a good day.'

And she left the office likely to attend to one of her young patients.

Not a good day? But was there even good days to speak to this impossible man?

* * *

After a few hours buried in his room, Severus had finally realised that he actually had to leave his quarters again because he had left some of his books in the staff room the previous evening. And because the staff room was exactly what it meant, then no non-member of the staff should be in it. Therefore it was more than safe for him to go there and spend a little bit of time.

Arriving in the room, he instantly spotted his books, took them and installed himself comfortably in one of the armchairs, ready to read a chapter or two in this homey atmosphere.

But as he had just started his second chapter, the comfortable feeling he had been settling in was disturbed by the opening of the door. He groaned inwardly.

And who stepped into the room? Her.

She entered the room and took a few steps before opening her mouth to speak.

'Sorry sir,' Hermione started.

But once again he did not even give her the time to complete her sentence. He rapidly closed his book with a thundering clap which expressed all of his anger. He got up on his feet and escaped the room with a most impressive billowing of his robes.

Hermione did not even have the time to blink; he had already disappeared behind the large oak door. What has got into him today that instead of shouting at her he just fled the moment he sees her?

Hermione was really fed up with his attitude. So she decided to go after him to have an explanation.

She ran out of the room in time to see the hem of his robes disappearing in one corner of the corridor.

She shouted his name to get his attention. But it was too late and there was no sign left of Severus Snape having ever been in the corridor a few moments ago. She could have run after him. But she knew better not to.

* * *

Severus finally reached his quarters after his last encounter with the know-it-all in the staff room.

This day seemed as if it would never end. It was barely lunch and he already wished that it was another day. He so much hated this day of all days.

As he entered his quarters he threw his books – his precious books – on his couch and went directly to sit at his desk.

There he put his elbows on the top of the desk and buried his head in his hands. How he wished that if he closed his eyes tightly the time would speed up. But when he opened his eyes again and looked at the small clock in front of him, he sadly realised that it had just been a mere seconds since he had sat down.

He looked down on his desk and grabbed the photograph that stood just there. He took in both his hands and seemed to lose himself in it.

An external spectator would have thought that Snape was just lost in his thoughts, maybe thinking about some new ways to make the life of his students a living hell. But if one took the time to look closer and examined his face, they would have notice sadness – deep sadness – in his dark eyes.

Snape remained in this position at his desk for hours. It was only when he heard the thunder outside that he snapped out of the world where he had been.

Thinking for a minute, he decided that this weather would be ideal to go at the top of the Astronomy tower and get rid off of all his frustration and bad emotions of the day.

So he went there, and after sending back a pathetic couple and removing points from Ravenclaw he approached the banister of the tower and lost himself in his thoughts once again.

* * *

Hermione Granger wanted some peace. She had been surrounded by lots of people all afternoon long during the conference. And after spending so much time alone studying in her flat in London, she was not used to being around that many people anymore.

She decided to go to the Astronomy tower where she knew nobody – except a few students she could easily send back to their rooms – was.

As she arrived at the top of the tower, she saw a silhouette standing near the edge of the tower. She opened her mouth ready to send the outlaw student back to his bed. But as she took a few silent steps closer she realised that it was no student.

It was Severus Snape.

At first, Hermione thought that it would be a good opportunity to finally talk to him. But as she paid more attention to his body, she realised that he was soaked wet from the rain pouring. Therefore he must have been standing there for quite a long time.

And his knuckles were white from gripping the banister very hard. Therefore he must be really angry. And these things in addition to the turmoil of unconscious magic she could feel escaping from him; Hermione decided it would not be wise to confront him now. She would only be at the receiving end of his fury – not that she was not already, but better to not provoke him any more.

Reluctantly she left the tower and came back to her room wondering what could have put Snape in this state.

**A/N Please, I'd like more reviews. Because without them I can't know if you liked it or not and if there are things that I have to change...**


	4. Chapter Four

**A/N So sorry for the delay but you know wat it is, life has been quite hectic since my last update. I was in the UK and moved back to France. Then I had classes, then exams. Now that that is all done, I thought that I could continue this story.**

**Edit 2011.04.28: Doppelgranger beta-read this chapter. Thanks! =)**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter Four

A few days after his night spent at the top of the Astronomy Tower found Severus Snape in a better mood. It could not quite be qualified as a happy or marvellous mood because he was still Severus Snape, but still it was an improvement compared to the previous days.

And why was that you might wonder? Simply, because today was the end of the week and therefore it was the last day before a weekend free of dunderheads. But it was not only for this reason that Snape seemed in a better mood. Today, the bane of his week was to leave the castle – and on a secondary level, he had also managed to get rid of this awful cold he had caught that night on the tower.

And this with his mind at peace – well, not quite at peace considering we are dealing with an ex-spy-ex-death-eater Potions Master – that Severus headed to the staff room.

When he opened the door, ready to spend an hour or two drinking a wonderful elf-made tea – the elves never dared coming to his quarters or office to serve him – while reading Potions Weekly, he was less surprised than he should have been to discover Hermione-bushy-Granger already there.

Would she be behind every door he opened from now on?

* * *

Hermione Granger was relatively happy for this week of conference to end. It had been enjoyable but she feared that if she stayed one more day in the castle she would never be able to leave it. She felt so comfortable in here. Everyone was friendly to her – well, almost everyone. She could walk in the corridors or in the park without being stopped by someone who wanted an autograph or a picture with her – the curse of being considered a hero. It was good to feel almost anonymous.

At lunch, Minerva – yes, she had succeeded in calling her by her first-name – Minerva then, had asked her to come to her office to talk about something. But apparently, the Headmistress was dealing at the moment with another problem and could not receive her. Therefore naturally, Hermione had found the way to the staff room where she thought she could spend some time reviewing the last version of the book she was writing.

Once arrived in the room, she found a cosy armchair near the fireplace and started to read her book, noting from time to time some words in the margin.

Not even a dozen of minutes had passed when the door of the room opened. And she was as surprised as Snape – that is to say very little – when the so-called Potions Master crossed the threshold.

Curiously, he did not flee as he had done since the beginning of the week. Neither did he make a snarky comments. He just entered and headed to the table where a tea kettle and tea cups laid. He helped himself then went to a comfortable looking armchair – completely opposite from Hermione. Once seated, he produced a magazine out of his pocket and started reading.

Hermione watched him curiously for a few seconds before turning her attention back to her reading. If he did not say or do anything, she better not upset him by staring at him. She was just too happy to continue with what she was doing without once again creating an incident because she had crossed paths with Severus Snape.

* * *

About half an hour passed without anything happening. But that was before Hermione felt someone staring at her. And as she was alone in the room with Snape, it did not take her long to understand that Snape kept glancing and staring at her now and then.

At first it did not bother her, but as he kept doing that during a dozen of minutes she started to be bothered.

Therefore at one moment, when she felt his glance on her she rose her and stared at him. Caught red-handed, Snape lowered his head to his journal.

"What?" Hermione asked.

Snape was surprised. He did not think she would be brave enough to talk to him and confront him.

"What? What is the matter?" Hermione asked impatiently.

Snape lowered his head once again as if what she was saying was not even worth looking at her.

"I don't understand what you are talking about Miss Granger. Please keep your nonsense to yourself and let me finish my reading," he muttered.

Snape thought the conversation would end here. But Hermione had encountered so much unfairness from the man since the beginning of the week that now that she could demand an explanation she was not ready to let go so easily.

"Pardon?" she said. "You don't understand? You have not stopped staring at me since you enter the room and you don't understand? What? Are you staring because you're so surprised at my choice of book? Well, I will tell you something; I studied History, I make research in History my living, I write so it should not be so much of a surprise to see that I am writing a book on the last war and its consequences and casualties!"

To that, Severus Snape did not answer. So, Hermione thought he was ignoring her. But an expert eye could have seen that Snape was in fact on the verge of exploding. The vein throbbing on his forehead was a good warning of that.

"What is wrong with you Severus Snape?" Hermione shouted. "Since I came here you've been nothing but despicable to me! And I did nothing. I did not even say more than a sentence to you and yet you've been avoiding me like the plague. I couldn't even apologize to you for the coffee the other morning. I don't understand. I did nothing. What did I do to you?"

For Snape that was the last straw. He did not allow anyone to shout at him.

So he rose up and started taking steps towards Hermione, who had stood up in her anger.

"What did you do?" he began. "You're wondering what you did? But your very existence Miss Granger is enough annoyance to bother me greatly. The very thought of you is enough to make me nauseous. You and your pathetic excuses of friends have always done things without thinking of the consequences and have always make my life a living hell, especially during the war. And you dare asking me what could be wrong with me? Why I am not throwing flowers at every step you make? You, who behave and consider yourself a hero when I had a difficult part to play in the war that you did not even acknowledge once. You, who dare writing a book on the casualties of the war and how sorry you are when you left me, dripping in my blood in the Shrieking Shack after I was attacked by Nagini. You, who in fact know nothing about what a war is! You dare ask me what is wrong with me? Why I am not friendly with you? Use that pathetic excuse of a brain you are supposed to own and think!"

On these words, Severus left the room - not without making his robes billow behind him - and leaving a crying Hermione who during his speech had sat down again.

**A/N So what did you think? A little bit harsh our Potions Master, uh? Leave me a review (even a negative one it's always a pleasure), it only takes a minute or two. See you!**


	5. Chapter Five

**A/N Here is the new chapter! I hope you will enjoy it! It has not been edited yet though I have found a beta-reader. So pardon me for my mistakes. lol**

**Edit 2011.04.28 : Chapter edited! Thanks!**

**Enjoy!**

_**To Doppelgranger.**_

**Chapter Five**

Once Snape left, Hermione was left alone. As we said previously she was crying. But she was not crying as you cry after a break-up with your boyfriend or after you hurt yourself very badly.

No, she was crying but only a few tears were running down her cheeks. She cried because as unfair as Snape had seemed, she was thinking about how right on some points he was.

She was crying from sadness at the thought of him lying in his blood and waiting for rescuers. The rescuers who had only came a long time after he had drifted into unconsciousness. They had all been celebrating the end of the battle and consequently the end of the war and nobody had been thinking about the Potions Master they had left for dead. How selfish of them. It was he that had rendered most of the actions against the Dark Lord possible and at this moment of celebration nobody had even been thinking about him, Hermione included.

That was why she was silently crying.

But as she was remembering the day of the battle, she also thought about what Snape had accused her of. According to him, she was not mature enough and did not know enough about the war to properly explain in a book how it had been. To his eyes she was just a child who pretended to know everything about the pain a war could bring while she did not actually know anything about what a war was. If it was what he thought, then she was very sorry for him. She, like a lot of people who had fought in the war – and they were many – knew exactly what a war really was. She had paid the price greatly for knowing that.

And at that thought, it was anger that came to mix with the sadness she felt.

She wiped her tears. It would not do well for the Headmistress to find her in that state. She would think that she was a child for crying because of some nasty comments she received. And she would have to explain that it was Snape who was at the origin of these comments and she did not want Minerva to know that. If there were a problem, an animosity between her and the Potions Master then it was only hers and the Potions Master's business.

Therefore during the little time she had before Minerva would come and talk to her, she tried to regain the confidence and light mood she had before her encounter with the dark man.

* * *

Once the exam week finished, the school year came quickly to an end and the holidays began.

These months of summer went well for the two characters that interest us.

Hermione shared her time between her flat finishing her history book – whatever this horrible man had said she was going to finish her book nonetheless – and the burrow where she helped Ginny (and Harry of course) preparing the upcoming wedding.

And so far it went well. She had almost finished her book – one last reading to get rid of the last mistakes and she would send it to her publisher.

As for the wedding, it was planned in a few days, at the end of July. Harry and Ginny had discussed it a long time and had finally agreed that it would be nice to have it on Harry's birthday. Ginny wanted the boy-who-lived to have the best birthday gift of his life. And Harry who could not disagree for too long with his red-headed fiancé – oh love! – had finally agreed with that date though he would have preferred a more neutral one because it was supposed to be their day and not mainly his.

Anyway, it would happen in a few days and the only things left to do were some retouching to Ginny, Luna and Hermione's dresses.

That is how Hermione found herself standing on a chair in the middle of the Weasley's garden – Molly had insisted to do that outside because of the sun. Her dress was almost finished and she was looking at Ginny. The red-headed girl seemed so happy and was so beautiful in her big white dress. That almost brought tears to Hermione.

She was not one to be sentimental but yet she seemed to be at this instant. Would she have the joy to live that special day as well one day?

She had many friends, and they loved her. But at this instant Hermione felt very lonely. When she looked around herself, she only saw couples: Harry and Ginny will be married in a few days, Ron had married Lavender last year and Luna was also happily married with Neville, and George was happy with his girlfriend Angelina. But she, the bushy know-it-all, was alone.

Molly noticed her sad face and misjudged it for exhaustion.

"Hermione, dear," she said, "I've just finished your dress. Why don't you change back into your clothes and go rest a bit in the guest bedroom? You seem tired, in your state it is not good to stay up."

Hermione did not want to contradict Molly and listened to her advice. Being on her own for a few hours was exactly what she needed.

* * *

For Severus the summer had started greatly. He spent all his time reading or brewing potions in his basement in Spinners End. No dunderhead, no patrols, no colleagues, no damp dungeons, it was heaven.

Or it had been until he received a letter.

He had just finished cleaning his plate one morning – doing things the muggle way could be so relaxing sometimes – when a big and majestic light brown owl came at his window. At first he thought that it was the dozen of books he had ordered the day before that had arrived, but there was no sign of a package. There was just a bright white letter with a red and gold seal.

He did not know the owl. He did not know the seal. And it bothered him greatly. Who had the nerve to send him an owl in the middle of the summer? Everyone knew that he was not to be disturbed. If it was one of his colleagues, the poor one would be very sorry to have done so.

He came to take the letter from the animal and started to read. The owl took its leave without waiting a second as if it knew exactly who it was dealing with.

_Professor Snape,_

_I hope you are all right and you are spending a nice summer. I heard that the weather in Northern England is exceptional at the moment._

_I know that you had never liked me much_ (at this the Potions Master sneered) _but I would like very much if you could read my letter until the end._

_I know I have not exactly been the perfect student that every teacher ever dreamed of_ (another sneer). _Therefore I would like to apologize for all my years at Hogwarts when I disobeyed and kind of tormented you. I know I have no excuse but you have to understand that I was young, naïve and as you would say a complete dunderhead_ (at this Snape rose an eyebrow). _Please accept my apology._

_But apologizing is not the only reason why I am writing to you. I don't know if you've read the newspaper recently, but at least one thing is right in them: I am going to marry at the end of the month. I will marry Ginevra Weasley. And I would like very much if you could attend the wedding. It would be a great honour to me and Ginny. And maybe we could forget our old resentment and start from scratch. I would like that very much professor._

_You will find all the necessary information for the wedding in the invitation I have sent you with the letter. I hope to see you at the wedding._

_My best regards,_

_Harry J. Potter_

Severus read the letter once again. Harry Potter was really apologizing. As if he could really forgive the boy-who-lived. He let the letter and the invitation down near the sink and left the kitchen.

He certainly did not want to go. How infuriating was this little chit to ask him to come! He was so angry that he went to his basement. Brewing would help him relax.

**A/N So what do you think? Give your impressions in a review. Please!**


	6. Chapter Six

**Brand new chapter. It took me quite some time to write it. I thought that watching the royal wedding would help but it did not. Or so I think!**

**Chapter not beta-read yet, but it won't last!**

**EDIT 2011/05/05 CHAPTER BETA-READ! Thanks to DOPPELGRANGER!**

**Bonne lecture!**

**Chapter six**

The wedding was going well. The ceremony had just ended and Harry and Ginny were now happily married. As the stars or the day – or of the century – they were now passing amongst the guests to thank them before the beginning of the lunch.

They had decided to have the ceremony, lunch, ball, and dinner at the burrow. The gardens were big enough to welcome the many guests of the couple. The grounds were coloured with blue, pink and white balloons and flags.

The sky was blue and the sun shining; they had chosen the perfect day to marry.

Hermione had observed all that with happiness. She was now walking amongst the guests, greeting people she knew here and there.

The night before, Ginny had had her hen party and as a close friend to the bride, Hermione had been forced to attend. And the party had lasted until very late in night – or very early in the morning, we never know.

Hermione had come back to the burrow with Ginny – who had needed a strong hangover potion in the morning – later than expected. And she had not slept properly – no doubt because of the excitement of the following day.

And after this crazy night worthy of the best Nottingham's Saturday night going from pub to pub and from club to club, the morning had been hectic. Indeed, Ginny had woken up half an hour later than planned, and for Molly, it had almost been synonymous to the end of the world. And thus everything had had to be done in a hurry. As a result, the last touches to the decoration of the gardens had just been done when the first guests arrived; and Ginny had had barely enough time to take a breath between the moment she had been ready and the moment her father had taken her to the altar.

The fatigue from the night, the stress from the preparation and the emotions of the ceremony started to show on Hermione's face. And after talking with a couple of guests she decided it would be better if she went to rest in the house before lunch began – surely Harry and Ginny would not mind if she did not stay to greet every single guest.

On her way to the house, she met George.

"Hi!" she said. "Happy that your little sister is happily married?"

"Can't be happier!" George answered. And after a look at Hermione added, "Mione, you're pale. Sure you're alright?"

"Yes, don't worry," she said putting a hand on his arm in a way to reassure him. "Nothing a few minutes of rest in the calm of the house won't cure."

"Good. If you need me to fetch a doctor or anything, ask."

"Thank you," she said with a smile. "Come to wake me before the lunch, will you?"

"No problem Mione," he said and left after kissing her quickly on the temple.

Hermione looked at him after he left. He was so sweet with her. They were all so sweet. The Weasleys had definitely adopted her as a member of their family. And it was so agreeable, so comfortable. She smiled and headed to the house.

She had not walked ten feet that she was stopped by Minerva and Poppy. They were both happily chatting about god knows what when they spotted Hermione and came to her.

"Hermione dear," Poppy started, "I'm so glad to see you again. I thought I may see you before the ceremony to talk with you but I couldn't find you."

"Madame Pomfrey – " she started.

"Call me Poppy!" the woman said with a big smile.

Hermione smiled back. It felt awfully uncomfortable to call people from Hogwarts staff by their first names, but she would have to get used to it she thought. "Poppy, then," she answered, "I was not in the gardens before the ceremony, that's why. Ginny had some problems with her hair and then with her dress and I had to help her and Molly."

"Ah, there seems to always be a last minute problem for every great event," Minerva said humorously.

"Yes," Hermione said laughing.

"But how are you dear?" Poppy asked.

"Oh, good. "Hermione answered, "I'm just a little bit tired."

"Yes, I just noticed you started trembling. Are you sure you're okay? I came with some of my potions in my bag just in case, I'm sure there's something in there that could help you."

"No, Poppy. Don't worry; I was just saying to George that I was going to rest for a bit in the living-room. I'll be okay for lunch you'll see."

As she was saying these words, she saw a dark silhouette – which she certainly did not want to meet at the moment – approaching.

"And I should really be going now," she said before nodding and taking her leave to the house.

* * *

This morning when Severus Snape had woken up, he had no idea that he would find himself at Potter's wedding a few hours later.

He had taken a shower – as every morning. He had eaten his breakfast – as every morning. He had read the newspaper – as every morning. He had avoided the gossip section – as every morning. And he had started to head for his lab in the basement – as every morning.

But what had been different this morning had been the letter arriving via the Floo network. A letter from Minerva – the witch was not suicidal enough to contact him physically during summer.

For a moment, he hesitated to leave the letter where it was on the carpet in front of the fireplace when he recognized Minerva's seal. But then he thought that it was better to deal with the matter now before the witch started to harass him with dozens of letters.

_Severus,_

_I know which day it is. And I know that Harry invited you. I also know that you did not plan to come. But please do come. If you do not, consider that as a duty an employer would ask of an employee._

_I know_ (obviously the witch knew many things) _that you are not on good terms with Harry but he is not James, Severus. Think about it._

_Lily would have loved for you to be present. Think about her._

_Regards,_

_Minerva._

At these lines, Severus threw the letter with rage. How could she mention his old love for Lily? How could she?

She knew that he had no desire to speak about it. After his trial for the death of Dumbledore and some members of the Order viewing his memories, he had made it clear that he did not want anyone to talk to him about Lily. And here she was doing so, the damn witch!

He started heading down the stairs to his lab when he stopped right in the middle of it. And slowly he sat on a step.

Lily. It was her son that was marrying today. A son that he had protected a major part of his life. And it was about to be one of the most important day of his life. And Lily was not there to see that. Nobody was there. Lily and James were dead. Sirius had disappeared behind that veil. Remus had perished with his wife during the battle. And he, former best friend of Lily Evans, was alive and not going to the wedding.

Severus started to feel guilty.

Why couldn't he go there? Because he was too proud. But nothing was really stopping him from going. The boy had even apologized to him. And even if he was not ready to forgive him, Severus had had time to think and finally appreciate the gesture.

After a few moments of further reflexion, it was decided. He was going to the wedding. He was going to attend the ceremony and directly come back to Spinner's End after.

* * *

The ceremony had gone well. He had sat as far as possible from the altar and had watched. He was glad that nobody had come to talk to him – probably too afraid of him.

As the guests started to form little groups and talked amongst themselves, Severus thought it was the best time to leave. But before he had the chance, Harry was already by his sides extending a hand towards him.

"Thank you for coming, sir, " the boy said an obvious emotion in his voice and eyes.

Severus hesitated for a moment, staring at the hand. Finally he grabbed it and shook it briefly.

"You're welcome. But I hope you were not counting on me for lunch. I came to the ceremony and that is more than enough for me. I shall take my leave now," Severus answered.

Harry smiled. Even if he had come, the Potions Master had not changed a bit. "Of course sir."

And the Potions Master turned to leave in direction of the apparition point. But what he had not planned for in his great exit was to stumble upon Poppy and Minerva talking. They had their back to him.

"Oh, the poor girl," the mediwitch was saying. "Look at how ill she looks."

"Yes," the headmistress was answering. "It is very sad. I hope that she will be okay if she joins the staff"

"Who's joining the staff Minerva?" Severus asked as he arrived behind the witches to greet them briefly before leaving.

The two witched turned around surprised by the presence of the Potions Master.

"Oh Severus," Minerva said, "you came."

"Yes," Severus said sourly, "but I'm leaving. So who's joining the staff?"

"Hermione but – "

At this name, Severus quickly paled then became red with anger.

"What?" he hissed angrily.

**Cliffangher! Or not. You will ****only ****have to wait a bit to have Severus' complete reaction.**

**A review, please?**


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